Award-winning poet Taylor Mali will give a public reading of his work at 7 p.m. Monday, April 20 in the Kemper Recital Hall inside Spratt Hall on the campus of Missouri Western State University. “The Mochila Review Presents: In the Shadow of Taylor Mali” is free and open to the public. Mali will sign copies of his books during a reception following the reading.
Mali is one of the best-known poets to have emerged from the poetry slam movement and one of the original poets to appear on the HBO series “Def Poetry Jam.” A four-time National Poetry Slam Champion, he is the author of two collections of poetry and a book of essays, the highly regarded “What Teachers Make: In Praise of the Greatest Job in the World.” In 2012, Mali completed a 12-year project of convincing 1,000 people to become teachers and marked the occasion by donating 12 inches of his hair to the American Cancer Society.
Copies of the Spring 2015 issue of The Mochila Review, Missouri Western’s national undergraduate literary journal, will also be available at the event. The issue features an interview and poem by Mali, who served as guest judge for the Review’s annual contest for undergraduate writers. Out of more than 60 applicants, he selected the winning poem, “[My grandmother says I’m cold],” by University of Alaska-Fairbanks student Eran E. Eads.
“We’re thrilled that we can not only involve such a high-profile, prestigious author in our journal, but also bring him to Missouri Western,” said Dr. Marianne Kunkel, editor of The Mochila Review. “That we’re able to give our students the opportunity to meet Mali in person is the direct result of the generosity of the Missouri Humanities Council and a testimony to the supportive environment at MWSU.”
The Missouri Humanities Council awarded a grant of $2,500 to Missouri Western in support of “The Mochila Review Presents: In the Shadow of Taylor Mali.” The MHC is the only state-wide agency in Missouri devoted exclusively to humanities education for citizens of all ages. It has served as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities since 1971. Mali’s appearance is also made possible through support from Missouri Western’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and its Department of English and Modern Languages.
To learn more about Mali, visit www.taylormali.com. For more information about The Mochila Review, visit www.mochilareview.com. For more information about the grants program of the Missouri Humanities Council, visit www.mohumanities.org.
Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.